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Friday, October 16, 2009

Sega Rally Revo PSP

Now, from one massive disappointment on the PSP (see previous post), to one major triumph. Sega Rally Revo PSP is not only one of the best driving games I've played on a handheld, but also one of the best driving games I've ever played full stop.

Like Soul Calibur, I've owned every incarnation of Sega Rally since it's debut on the Sega Saturn back in 1995. I've also loved it's only other handheld incarnation, back on the Gameboy Advance, although it was as basic as any driving game could be.

Sega Rally Revo on the 360 and PS3 was met with critical acclaim, but commercial failure. I loved it, but GGOTG's other satellite correspondent, Nebachadnezzar didn't. The handling was very sensitive, but the game's driving physics, particularly the car's correspondence to the break up of the driving surface in successive laps was absolutely spot on.

Now if i'm honest, I only bought the PSP version to be completist in my Sega Rally collection. I wasn't expecting much and I also had both Colin McRae and Toca Racing on the PSP which I hadn't explored at all. But as soon as I started to play, I was sucked in completely.

Like my other driving passion these days (Burnout 3: Takedown),the joy of Sega Rally Revo is in the joy of unlocking new races and new cars. This addictive cycle just keeps me coming back for more and more. The game is not just addictive because of this however, it plays like a dream. Whereas the original Revo for 360/PS3 had a steep learning curve in terms of driving, (putting many off before the party got started,) the PSP version is just easy to play and therefore fun from the off.

This has lead some critics to dismiss it as TOO easy and therefore, well... crap. (The usually reliable Gamespot scored it a meagre 6/10.) I know these creatures, they eat games for breakfast and shit 'em for lunch. Well I don't. I love a game that is easy to pick up and play, and dare I say it complete quickly ready for the next game to fill the gaming gap. If you're looking for a quick driving fix, you could do a lot worse than Sega Rally Revo PSP. I'd give it a very healthy 9/10!